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S E P T 2 0 1 6 O C T
As I write this message to you, our membership, I am sitting in
an airport on my way to another event where I have the honor
of representing all of you as your President. I can’t tell you how much
I appreciate your support and what an honor it is to serve this presti-
gious association. Past President Barry Thomas warned me that this
would be an incredibly busy year for me but I had no way of knowing
just how busy.
My tenure so far has been an amazing opportunity to connect
with our members, our Strategic Alliances and our FBI Partners in
the US as well as Europe. This is a busy time for our association; many
chapters have their fall re-trainers scheduled, we had a Session graduate
and a new Session start, and your Executive Board and Executive
Office Staff hosted our annual IACP reception and board meeting.
I am also proud to formally announce that both our store and Execu-
tive Office are back on the FBI Academy Campus. Many thanks to the
FBI Training Division and our own Executive Office Staff for all the
hard work during the transition.
I had the pleasure of attending the graduation ceremonies for the
265th Session in September. Please join me in congratulating our new
members and please make them feel welcome as they start plugging
into this great network of law enforcement professionals. I also had
the privilege of addressing the 266th Session at the official welcoming
as they began their National Academy experience. The excitement on
the faces at both of these sessions took me back to my own experience
20 years ago as I attended the 184th Session.
This year the FBI National Academy Associates was highlighted
at IACP in San Diego. We were part of a focused program on IACP
TV. Thanks to Chief Jon Belmar, St. Louis County Police, Major
Mike Adams, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, FBI Assistant Direc-
tor David Resch and the FBI NA Training Unit staff for jumping in
and making the video happen. We also had an incredible reception at
IACP in San Diego aboard the USS Midway with over 750 members
attending where we were able to fellowship, catch up on old friend-
ships and make new ones.
If you attended our annual conference in St. Louis you know
that my focus during my year as president is “Community Engage-
ment.” I feel strongly that we, as the most prestigious law enforce-
ment executive leadership association, have to take a more proactive
role in changing the perception of the law enforcement profession in
our communities. We only have to look at what recently happened in
Charlotte, NC to see that we have a lot of work to be done. It broke
my heart to see a beautiful city like Charlotte being vandalized and
officers of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department being
injured as they did their duty in such a professional way to protect the
city they love. We have many members and friends who are members
of this great police department and on a more personal note, I have a
son who is a proud officer of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD.
I am glad to announce that our new “Community Engagement
Committee” is up and running under the great leadership of Past Presi-
dent Barry Thomas. We have committee members from our associa-
tion as well as community groups including Boys and Girls Clubs
Greetings!
by Joey Reynolds
of America, the Afterschool Alliance and Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association Rapid Response Team. All have committed to working
hand in hand with our members to develop strategies and best prac-
tices that will help our member agencies and law enforcement partners
better serve the communities we are sworn to protect.
On a sad note, just as we did in the academy sessions we mourn
with our members and families who are in mourning. Such is the case
with Francisco Cisneros, a proud graduate of the 180th Session and a
member of the Latin America/Caribbean Chapter. Francisco Cisneros
was the Police Chief in the City of Chihuahua, Mexico and was ac-
tive in counterterrorism and counternarcotics investigations. He was
gunned down by assassins as he left his home. Francisco Cisneros was
an active member and recently attended the Latin America/Caribbean
Conference in Santiago, Chile in May of this year. We ask that you
keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers and we hope
those responsible can be brought to justice.
In closing, during this difficult and extremely busy time for the
law enforcement profession, we must continue to work together in
order to remain strong and meet the challenges we face. As the great
Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the
courage to continue that counts.” Let us have the courage to continue to
improve our profession for the benefit of the communities we serve.
God Bless!
Joey Reynolds
President
ASSOCIATION PERSPECTIVE
Joey Reynolds